If you have read our reviews of the recently launched Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35, you may have noticed us complaining about Samsung's 25W charging technology feeling a little outdated in this day and age, even on a mid-range smartphone.
Well, Samsung may have heard our cries, as it recently launched the first mid-range Galaxy smartphone that supports 45W charging, or Super Fast Charging 2.0 as Samsung calls it. That phone is the Galaxy M55, which was made available for pre-order in Brazil a week ago.
Galaxy M55 can be charged fully in 70 minutes with 45W charger
According to Samsung, the Galaxy M55's 5,000 mAh battery can be charged fully in 70 minutes with a 45W charger. The Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 sport the same battery capacities but require almost 85 minutes for a full charge.
Some will rightfully point out that the difference between 25W and 45W charging isn't huge. But that's only applicable to the time it takes for the battery to go from 0 to 100%. 45W charging can have a sizable advantage in the first half hour, as evident from the testing we have done here at SamMobile.
However, we will have to wait and see if Samsung will bring 45W charging to the Galaxy A series next year with the Galaxy A55 or Galaxy A35's sequel or to other Galaxy M smartphones. Samsung still limits even some of its flagship phones to 25W charging, so the M55 may not be a sign that 45W will become more common across Samsung smartphones in the future.
Galaxy M55 is also the first Samsung phone with a 50MP front camera
While the M55's 45W charging is a first for mid-range Samsung phones, it also has something we have never seen on any Galaxy device before: a 50MP front camera. 40MP is the highest we have seen on Galaxy devices until now, and while the megapixel count isn't everything, we are very interested in checking out what the M55's 50MP front camera is capable of.
Another first for the Galaxy M55 is the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip that powers it. Samsung made heavy use of Snapdragon chips for mid-range phones in 2021 but has gone back to using Exynos and MediaTek chips in recent years.
The Exynos 1480 inside the Galaxy A55 is more powerful than the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, though the M55 probably won't make users feel like it lacks the processing power for most tasks. Not to mention that the Exynos 1480 may never be used to its full potential, especially in games, as developers don't usually put extra effort into taking advantage of specific chips.
Update: The article incorrectly mentioned that Samsung claims 70% charge in 30 minutes of charging. Samsung makes no such claims and the article has been corrected to reflect that.
